Yanick Moreira scores 38 against Australia (w/ video)
By Jacob Rude
It’s rare for a college player to find himself among his nation’s basketball team, especially during the FIBA World Cup. It’s even more rare when a college player dominates a game.
But Southern Methodist University center and Angolan international Yanick Moreira did just that against Australia on Thursday. With Angola fighting to advance to the knockout rounds and Australia controversially playing to lose, Moreira feasted down low.
After just four points in the first half, Moreira scored 34 second-half points and helped Angola recover from their 13-point halftime deficit. By the end of his night, he finished with 38 points and 15 rebounds, shooting an impressive 17-24 from the field.
Moreira played in 23 games last season for Larry Brown‘s SMU Mustangs squad. However, he averaged just 13.5 minutes, 6.0 points, and 3.9 rebounds during the season. His 38 points on Thursday are over a 25% as many points as he scored all of last season.
Hopefully Moreira can turn his international success into production back home for SMU this season.